Focus: The "Great Dying" and How It Created Opportunities for Dinosaurs
What HUGE catastrophe happened right before the Triassic started?
What was the "Great Dying" (Permian-Triassic extinction)?
How many species died? (percentage)
What might have caused it? (Volcanic eruptions? Climate change?)
How long did the extinction event last?
How did this extinction CREATE OPPORTUNITIES for dinosaurs?
What animals dominated BEFORE the extinction?
What happened to those animals?
Why did this leave room for dinosaurs to evolve?
What other reptile groups also took advantage?
🌟 QUESTION 2: How Did Climate Impact Dinosaur Evolution?
Focus: Hot, Dry Climate and Why Dinosaurs Stayed Small
What was the climate like in the Triassic?
Was it hot or cold? Wet or dry?
Were there ice caps at the poles?
Were there huge deserts? Where and why?
Did climate change during the Triassic (Early vs. Middle vs. Late)?
How did this hot, dry climate affect dinosaurs?
Why were Triassic dinosaurs relatively SMALL?
Where could dinosaurs survive? (Near coasts? In deserts?)
What plants grew in this climate? Was there enough food?
How did dinosaurs compete with other reptiles (archosaurs)?
Were dinosaurs dominant or just one of many groups?
📍 Supporting Research Questions
What did Earth look like?
Was there one big continent or many small ones?
What was this supercontinent called? (Pangaea)
How did having one giant landmass affect climate?
What plants grew?
Were there flowers? If not, what was there?
Can you name 3 types of Triassic plants?
Could these plants support large herbivores?
What else was alive?
What were the archosaurs? Were they bigger than dinosaurs?
Were there flying creatures? What were they called?
What lived in the oceans?
How did the Triassic end?
What extinction event ended the Triassic?
What caused it? How did this help dinosaurs become dominant?
🦖 EXPERT DINOSAUR CHALLENGE
Find and research 5 Triassic dinosaurs that include:
At least 1 from the family Herrerasauridae
At least 1 prosauropod
At least 1 from South America (like Argentina or Brazil)
For each dinosaur, research:
Scientific name and what it means
What family/group it belongs to
Early, Middle, or Late Triassic?
What it ate (carnivore, herbivore, omnivore)
How big it was (compare to something familiar)
ONE special feature that makes it unique
BONUS Expert Questions:
Were Triassic dinosaurs bipedal or quadrupedal (or both)?
Which group evolved first—theropods or sauropodomorphs?
What's the difference between dinosaurs and other Triassic reptiles?
🎨 Poster Ideas for Triassic:
Draw Pangaea (the supercontinent) and label it
Create a "Dinosaur Family Tree" showing different groups
Show your 5 dinosaurs with scientific names and special features
Include a size comparison chart
Add archosaurs and other creatures (pterosaurs, cynodonts)
Create a "temperature gauge" showing hot/dry climate
Timeline showing Early, Middle, and Late Triassic
✅ Triassic Poster Checklist
🤓 Expert Fact!
The earliest dinosaurs like Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus were small—about the size of a dog! They weren't the dominant animals yet. Other archosaurs like rauisuchians and aetosaurs were actually more common!